 Scott Pilgrim vs. The World’s poor box office tally generated several theories this week by way of explanation: people are stealing the movie online, waiting for the DVD, or simply aren’t prepared for its inventiveness. I subscribe to this one: the film just isn’t great.
Yes, Michael Cera is awkward and sorta charming, even if you’re tired of seeing him everywhere. Yes, the script is clever-ish and funny-ish. Yes, the special effects are creative and groundbreaking, kinda. But combine these features with a smattering of hipster/Canada/ADD jokes into a two-hour package and you get a movie that’s like Scott Pilgrim’s trendy characters: unexciting and chaffing for kids and adults.
Ostensibly targeted at the high school to post-high school demographic , Scott Pilgrim vs. The World recounts the story of its eponymous hero, a dopey 22 year old played by Cera, searching for love and self-respect as he battles his dream girl’s seven evil exes. Adapted from a graphic novel of the same name, the movie takes full license of comic book conventions—like spelled-out sounds, floating heart shapes when people kiss, and subspace portals—as it portrays Scott fighting an ex in ritualized video-game-style combat or playing bass during a battle of the bands.
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 Recently one of my posts generated quite a few comments — Classic TV Shows That Are Great for Kids, a list of some of the old TV shows I enjoy watching with my kids. As kids branch out of toddlerhood, parents are able to truly start enjoying “family friendly” shows versus the same old made for kids TV shows on Sprout or Nick Jr. The same could just as easily be said for movies. They don’t all have to be Pixar to keep the kids happy.
Over the last few months, I’ve been branching out to discover which of my favorite movies I can now share with my kids. The criteria for this list is pretty simple:
- The movie has to hold their attention
- The language is decent (I’ll allow a damn here or there in the movie)
- And there is no serious violent or sexual content
So here are the movies I’ve watched with my kids and enjoyed almost as much as them. OK, who am I kidding? Look at this list; you know I enjoyed these more than them. But they watched them with and had fun doing it.
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 Just as its maladjusted main characters become New York City’s finest cops, Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg’s buddy comedy, The Other Guys, found itself on top this Sunday. It passed Inception—arguably the season’s best blockbuster—as the weekend’s highest grossing film, winning America’s hearts along the way and leaving its minds largely untouched.
Effectively a brainless action movie that successfully pokes fun at brainless action movies, The Other Guys delivers what audiences expect from a Ferrell vehicle, although many of its scenes twist jokes in surprising directions. It’s a tactic that may make you to like this movie, even if you’ve grown to hate Will Ferrell, but viewer be warned: some of this flick’s treats come with extra helpings of raunchiness.
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 There’s a lot to like about Inception, the newest blockbusting thriller from director Christopher Nolan of The Dark Knight fame. It broadly succeeds as an action movie and a psychological drama, packed tight with suspense, special effects, and terrific performances, all of which is packaged in a thought-provoking if not entirely consistent plot.
The story itself should pose few obstacles to adult’s enjoyment of the film, that is unless they bring children along, mostly because youngsters will be asking questions throughout the movie like: “What’s going on?” and “Is this a dream now? Still?”
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 A friend of mine suggested that Eclipse was the perfect name for the latest Twilight installment, because the longer and closer you watch, the greater your chances of irreparable eye damage. Many people harbor strong feelings about the teen-vampire saga—some negative, many more positive—but love or hate the Stephanie Meyer’s series, it poses few actual dangers to viewers middle school age and older.
Arguably Eclipse’s most threatening elements are angst-ridden dialogue, excessive close-ups, and a softcore agenda of Mormon-inspired values, but the film also offers rewards including some surprising humor and of course, improbably good-looking actors.
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Every parent has days when they look around the house and feel overwhelmed. Toys everywhere, laundry to be done, bills to be paid and errands to run. The feeling of being overwhelmed can be intensified during summer vacation when the kids are home all day mom ceases to have any time to knock out her to-do list.
Stress and chaos are sometimes just part of parenting. Which is OK as long as you do not get stuck in an endless cycle of stress that prevents you from doing your job as a mom or dad.
If you are afraid that you might be falling into that cycle this summer you can find some inspiration from the movie that is dominating movie theaters, Toy Story 3. Here are a few tips inspired by Toy Story 3 to help keep you inspired as a parent.
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The year the original Toy Story came out in theaters, I graduated high school. Toy Story 2 came out in 1999, the year that I got married. But it wasn’t until 2004 that I actually saw either movie for the first time, about a year after my son was born. For many people Toy Story 3 represents a cycle of their own childhood coming full circle; for me it represents my children. My house has been full of Buzz Lightyear and Woody toys for as long as I’ve been a parent.
We went to Disneyland not long after my daughter was born. Meeting Buzz and Woody topped the list of things we had to do while there. And it was the highlight of our entire week at Disneyland.
So clearly when the first commercials starting running for Toy Story 3, all of us were ecstatic. And then much to our surprise at the last family fun night of the school year we (along with 100 others) were the lucky recipients of three tickets to a private screening of Toy Story 3 the morning it opened.
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 There’s been some positive news this week related to Jonah Hex, Warner Brothers’ recent released heavy metal western. First, MTV reports that the oral prosthetics Josh Brolin wore to play the film’s disfigured title-character forced him to quit smoking. Second, the movie is expected to do so poorly at the box office, there’s minimal risk of a sequel.
Rumor has it turmoil behind the scenes of this graphic novel adaptation matched its violent content, and while it still met its target release—even with the head writers quitting last year—what slumped onto the screen this week has the worst trappings of a rush job.
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 A special logic runs through The A-Team—an adrenaline-stuffed cinematic adaptation of the lovably silly TV show that made Mr. T famous in the ’80s. It’s a logic that says Gandhi would want you to body slam a man, as long as it’s for a good cause.
Aside from a few references to the power of non-violence movements, the movie relies on face punching, wild stunts and sexy stars for its thrills, many of which push the limits of PG-13. At an hour and 58 minutes, it also tests the audiences’ attention span, but the spectacle ultimately does more to numb the mind than bore it.
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 Ripped from your local paper’s funny pages, Marmaduke the movie turns cartoonist Brad Anderson’s hulking Great Dane into a live-action mutt, who talks via computer generated lips. The effect is poorly done, but the film explicitly targets the young, mostly uncritical theater-going demographic, so short cuts and shortcomings are pretty standard.
And if you’re eager to see the movie because you love the cartoon, be prepared: Marmaduke is heavy on the themes of a big dog eating stuff he shouldn’t and a big dog wrecking things, but updates the benign, ’50s sense of humor with a more contemporary, fart-centric brand.
As the goofy, earnest voice of the canine lead, Owen Wilson delivers most of the dialogue and jokes, as well as the movie’s more insightful points like: “the dog park is a lot like high school.”
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